Video: Ben Askren still not worried about any big talkers ahead of Bellator 97

Ben Askren no longer makes a point of watching the opening rounds of Bellator tournaments.

Before, the Bellator welterweight champion did so, in part, because he wanted to see what his prospective opponents were saying about him. He seemed to notice that just about everyone had something to say.

He got to the point, though, where he decided he was wasting his time.

“I’ve been the champ since fall of 2011, so it’s getting to be quite a while – every single season, there’s six or seven of the eight guys that say, ‘Oh, I’m going to kick Askren’s ass,'” Askren told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “And then half of them lose in the first round, and you’re laughing at them like, ‘Well, maybe you could beat me up if you could win the first round of the tournament.'”

Askren (11-0 MMA, 8-0 BFC) is aware of what his next opponent, Andrey Koreshkov (13-0 MMA, 5-0 BFC), has to say about him in advance of Bellator 97, where they meet in a co-main event bout at Santa Ana Center in Albuquerque, N.M., and what he hears are a lot of empty words. (The event’s main card airs live on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com.)

Koreshov, who won Bellator’s Season 7 tourney with three straight wins, recently told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Askren “has no idea what he is in for,” and claimed he’s a stronger, faster and more powerful fighter than any previous title challenger.

But forgive Askren if he simply hears empty words.

“It’s kind of a funny thing because it happens over and over again,” he said. “Most people that I fight, they see a semi-chubby white kid with an afro (and think) ‘How tough could he be?’

“They all think the same thing, and all of a sudden, they’ve got this person on top of them that they can’t get off and is repeatedly punching them in the face for 25 minutes. So I don’t think he has anyone to simulate that, so I would guess that he actually doesn’t have any idea, but I would never say that because it’s so cliche.”

Askren’s smothering style is, of course, an easy target for welterweights looking to end his reign as champion. It’s not the most aesthetically pleasing thing to watch, and so the title hopefuls promise to be different than others who’ve tried to stay on their feet against the decorated wrestler and wound up on their back for the better part of 25 minutes.

Three successive tournament winners, including experienced UFC vet Jay Hieron, and five title hopefuls have been dominated en route to a decision loss against Askren, who remains undefeated after 11 pro fights.

“Some of these schmucks get three or four chances at the tournament, and they can’t even win the tournament, and they’re still talking about me,” he said. “It’s like, ‘Dude, if you were good enough to win the tournament, maybe, just maybe, you could even fight me, let alone beat me. I try to ignore what they’re all saying, because I know it’s stupid.”

And after watching tape on the Russian fighter, Askren feels all the more confident that he’ll be able to illustrate another MMA cliche – without ground skills, you’re chances of success dwindle.

“I think we saw in the Lyman Good fight – his ground game was pretty bad,” Askren said of Koreshov. “He got taken down by Lyman, who isn’t a wrestler. He got mounted by Lyman, who’s terrible at jiu-jitsu, and he got his back taken and held for quite a long time by Lyman, who I repeat again is not a very good grappler at all.

“So I think his grappling skills are very weak at best, and I think their camp over there has an unhealthy disrespect for grappling, and obviously, that’s going to haunt him in a couple of weeks.”

Askren ultimately feels it’s his job to ignore the talking and do his job. So far, that’s done him right. In the case of his current opponent, he believes someone else might be the one making bold proclamations, anyway.

“So I think he could have had someone better writing his lines for him, because I know he doesn’t talk any trash,” Askren said.

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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